Focus

As school districts across the country look to modernize educational facilities for 21st-century learning, they are seeking partners capable of realizing that goal. In Eugene, Ore., Eugene School District 4J has enlisted Todd Construction of Tigard, Ore., to build one of those modern learning centers.

Todd Construction is in the midst of constructing the new Howard Elementary School, located in the north end of the second-largest city in the state. The building will replace an existing school built in 1949 that has become difficult to maintain and expensive to operate for the school district. The existing Howard Elementary has continued to operate since work began last winter on the new school site, which is located on an adjacent field.

ReyLenn Construction operates on a simple principle, but it’s one that Principal Barney Addamo says has carried it a long way so far and has the potential to carry it even further as it looks into the future. “I would say that the philosophy and the business platform we work under is that whether we’re building it for ourselves or for a client, we build it as if we own it,” Addamo says.

Based in Solana Beach, Calif., ReyLenn Construction is the general contracting arm of ReyLenn Properties, a developer of multifamily residential properties in California and Colorado. With its affiliate exploring development opportunities, ReyLenn Construction has completed more than 1,2000 residential units in the last two years. Originally focused entirely on California, the company branched out into the Denver market in 2011. ReyLenn recently completed Solana 3100 Pearl, a 319 unit podium project in Boulder, and is nearing completion on of 341-unit project in the Cherry Creek submarket. Another 640-plus units are projected to start in Colorado before the end of 2015 along with approximately 650 units in California for 2015

There are more than 2.5 million miles of natural gas and crude oil pipelines in the United States, making it the largest such network in the world, according to the American Petroleum Institute.

“Pipelines exist almost everywhere – natural gas is delivered directly to homes in relatively small-diameter distribution lines buried under the street and even your own yard,” the institute says. “Larger cross-country transmission pipelines delivering gasoline, home heating oil, or moving crude oil or natural gas are actually easier to find.”

Pipelines can range in length from one mile to more than 1,000 miles, as well as vary in diameter. The approximately 55,000 miles of crude oil transmission lines in the U.S. that connect regional markets typically range from eight to 24 inches in diameter. Oil gathering lines, located primarily in oil-producing states such as Texas and North Dakota, are significantly smaller, ranging from two to eight inches in diameter.

If you can make it in New York City, as the song goes, you can make it anywhere. The Big Apple is home to some of the most successful companies and firms in the world, and a second home for many more. Whether that company is a multinational conglomerate, a highly successful law firm or a titan of the financial world, making it in New York City means that company is at the top of its game.

Serving those companies also means that a contractor needs to be at the top of its game, as those that have made it in New York City won’t settle for anything less than the best. So, for a relatively young company like JRM to succeed in this highly competitive environment, it has to have something special. Owners David G. McWilliams and Joe Romano says JRM does a lot to set itself apart from the competition, and it has the client base and portfolio to prove it.

A building’s purpose can change drastically over the course of a renovation, and E.W. Howell Co. LLC’s new Peck Slip 343 project in Manhattan involves just such an evolution. The New York City School Construction Authority’s (SCA) $60 million project consists of the transformation of a former post office into a public school.

The building originally stood four stories. “The entire building was gutted – [including] the inside walls and outside walls – down to the existing concrete structure,” Project Manager Joe Barilla recalls.

E.W. Howell has since added a new façade and three new floors. Like the rest of the classrooms in the building, the fifth level will feature spaces with smart boards, a gym, and an art room with a kiln and hood.

When a city’s unofficial slogan encourages citizens to “Keep Austin Weird,” a developer must live up to certain progressive artistic and architectural sensibilities. Crafting a high-rise that fits Austin’s cultural landscape as well as the physical one was a vital component of the recently opened 24-story Seven apartment tower in the heart of the Texas capital.

Owner Monogram Residential Trust and development partner CWS Capital Partners, LLC conceived the project in 2011 and broke ground on April 9, 2013. JE Dunn Construction served as the project’s general contractor. The timing worked out to CWS and Monogram’s advantage because the construction market was still recovering from the recession and construction costs and land values were significantly lower when work began than they are today, according to Development Manager Jarrett Sullivan.

Resident move-ins began two years and a day after the groundbreaking, though the work continues on the two-story lofts that top off the high-rise and the pool deck. The entire building should be completed by July 1.

Burns & McDonnell is a rapidly growing engineering firm located in Kansas City, Mo. Its growth is so swift, in fact, that the firm is constructing another building to accommodate the 2,100 additional employees it expects to hire over the next several years, the company says.

The building will be the third built on the company’s campus headquarters and will bring its Kansas City employees to a single location. Currently, Burns & McDonnell leases space at other buildings in Kansas City, which is inconvenient for staff that has to travel between facilities for meetings and appointments.

Plans call for a 450,000-square-foot office development and 800-space garage, the company says. The contemporary design is expected to complement the company’s current headquarters, a polished granite-clad campus. Burns & McDonnell designed and is building the new space.

The initial phase will exceed 300,000 square feet with the potential for a second, smaller building with an ultimate cost of up to $130 million for the complete expansion, the company says.

Not many companies would be willing to work in environments exposed to the Ebola virus. But American Technologies Inc. (ATI) has become a leader in cleaning up such sensitive areas. “We do any type of infectious control work,” Executive Vice President Ryan Moore says.

With certified experts training its personnel, ATI makes sure it uses the right operating procedures and technology to keep its employees safe and in compliance with regulatory guidelines and regulations. In fact, “Some industry professionals such as hygienists and consultants are starting to recommend the work we’ve been doing,” Moore says.

Based in Orange, Calif., ATI specializes in restoration, environmental remediation and construction services. Moore’s father, President Gary Moore, founded the company 26 years ago after working in the industry for a Texas-based company.